Weise lifts Canadiens over Lightning
NHL: Dale Weise scored 18 minutes, 8 seconds into overtime to give the visiting Montreal Canadiens a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening game of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal playoff series on Wednesday night at Tampa, Fla.
Carey Price stopped 21 shots for the Canadiens, who blew a pair of third-period leads. Brian Gionta had a short-handed goal and Tomas Plekanec, Lars Eller and Thomas Vanek also scored for Montreal.
Steven Stamkos scored twice for Tampa Bay, including the goal that forced overtime.
• Penguins nip Blue Jackets: Brandon Sutter scored on a wrist shot from the left circle 8:18 into the third period, helping the Pittsburgh Penguins rally for a 4-3 victory over the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
Beau Bennett and Matt Niskanen scored power-play goals 45 seconds apart in the second period, erasing Pittsburgh’s two-goal deficit. Jussi Jokinen also scored for the Penguins and Marc-Andre Fleury overcame some shaky defense to stop 31 shots.
• Ducks hold off Stars: Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and an assist, Frederik Andersen made 32 saves to win his NHL playoff debut, and the Anaheim Ducks opened the postseason with a 4-3 victory over the visiting Dallas Stars at Anaheim, Calif.
Kyle Palmieri, Ryan Getzlaf and Mathieu Perreault scored in a dominant first period for the top-seeded Ducks, who began their playoff run on a dead sprint. Anaheim led 4-0 midway through the second period before Dallas got rolling in its first playoff game since 2008.
• Winnipeg signs Maurice: The Winnipeg Jets confirmed Paul Maurice as their new head coach for the next four years.
Maurice took the Jets to an 18-12-5 record over 35 games after Claude Noel was fired.
Memphis beats Dallas in OT to earn 7th seed
NBA: Mike Conley hit two free throws with 1.1 seconds left in overtime, and the Memphis Grizzlies grabbed the Western Conference’s No. 7 seed away from Dallas by edging the visiting Mavericks 106-105 in the regular-season finale at Memphis, Tenn.
Monta Ellis missed a 17-footer before Conley drew the foul driving to the basket. Dallas had one last shot to win the game, but Ellis missed from the top of the key.
• Wizards head to playoffs with win: Bradley Beal scored 27 points and visiting Washington clinched the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 118-102 win over the Boston Celtics.
• Raptors get No. 3 seed despite loss: The New York Knicks finished their disappointing season with a 95-92 victory over the visiting Toronto Raptors, who blew a 21-point lead but earned the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
• Knicks sign Odom: The New York Knicks signed former NBA champion Lamar Odom, who was out of the league this season.
He last played in the NBA with the Clippers in 2012-13, averaging 4.0 points in about 20 minutes per game, and appeared in two games for a team in Spain this season.
Jets, running back Johnson agree to deal
NFL: The New York Jets and former Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson agreed to terms on a deal.
The former 2,000-yard rusher will team with Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell to give coach Rex Ryan and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg a versatile and deep backfield.
Johnson, who turns 29 in September, is the sixth player to rush for 1,000 yards in each of his first six seasons. But Johnson finished with 1,077 yards – the second-lowest total of his career – last season.
• Arbitrator rules against Jackson: An arbitrator ruled that DeSean Jackson owes former agent Drew Rosenhaus $516,415 in back loans and fees, sources close to the situation told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Rosenhaus filed a grievance with the NFL Players Association last June, claiming that the former Eagles wide receiver owed him more than $700,000 in unpaid loans and fees. The arbitrator, using the NFLPA’s agent regulations, ruled in favor of Rosenhaus on Tuesday.
• Giants sign Freeman: A person familiar with the deal said quarterback Josh Freeman agreed to terms with the New York Giants.
Freeman was cut by Tampa Bay in October after a messy split. He signed with Minnesota four days later, but played just one game for the Vikings.
Three share early lead in LPGA LOTTE
GOLF: South Korea’s Se Ri Pak, Hyo Joo Kim and So Yeon Ryu each shot 4-under-par 68s for a tie atop the leaderboard after a breezy first round of the LPGA LOTTE Championship in Kapolei, Hawaii.
Winless in 2013, Pak played the back nine in 2-under 34. She had birdies on the par-5 13th and par-4 17th, to go along with an eagle on the par-5 5th.